Did anyone else grow up on the High School Musical movies? All I keep thinking of when I think about writing this post is the beginning of the second movie when everyone in the classroom starts quietly chanting/counting down, “Summer, Summer, Summer” before the bell rings and the whole school bursts into song. Is that you, too? Do you count down the days, hours, or even minutes until summer?
When we are kids, we are so ready for summer to come so we can finally have a break from school and homework. We get to hang out with our friends and if our family has the money and time, we get to go on vacation. We may go to VBS or some sort of camp. We have more freedom and longer days to do what we want to do. When we get older, things start changing. We have more responsibilities and even when summer comes, we may not have more free time.
I don’t know about you, but my schedule stays the same in the summer. Part of me misses the days when I had a summer break and we would go to the beach every week and visit friends who had pools often. The other part of me is excited to see how this summer will be. Experiencing things through the eyes of a child is always so special. This week, the little one and I are attending VBS (Vacation Bible School) at our church and we already have a water play day hosted by the local library on the calendar. Other than that, I am sure we will be spending many hours playing at the water table, blowing bubbles, and finding other fun summer activities to do!
When I was younger, my family used to go up to the mountains for a week in the summer and stay at a cabin owned by one of my dad’s friends. We made such fun memories up there. We would go to the lake to sit on the beach, play in the sand, and rent paddle boards. We would also go to the cute outdoor mall in town to shop at the special stores and get ice cream. One particular memory that I love is when my parents *finally* let me get my ears pierced at the Claire’s they had up there on our last day of vacation. I think that yes made my entire year and I was so excited that I would finally get to buy and wear all the cute earrings I wanted.
Every year, I looked forward to that week at the cabin. I would bring a ton of books even though I could never make it through the whole stack in just a week. We lived on sandwiches, chips, fruit, and all of the delicious summer foods. We would play board games and sometimes find a fun new game to try out at the game store that we would play for the rest of the week. It was a great way to get away from our everyday life and just enjoy being together as a family, and because we didn’t have to rent the cabin, it was not a super expensive vacation.
What do you think of when you think of summer? Does your mind go to “the good ol’ days” when you were younger and had less responsibilities? Did you go to summer camp as a kid? Was there a special vacation you went on every year? Did you have a last day of school or first day of summer tradition? Or do you think about how summer is in this stage of your life? Does it feel less exciting as you get older? Do you feel like it is no longer long enough to plan anything fun before fall comes? Do you still enjoy it as much as you did when you were younger?
Even though summer changes as we get older, we can still find ways to make it special. Do you have a fun vacation planned this year? Or maybe just some fun staycation activities? Is it going to be a busy summer or a chill one? Or maybe a mix of busy and chill? I am excited to plan a vacation later this summer, but I am also hoping to plan some days to go to the beach with some friends and hang out at another friend’s pool if we can coordinate our schedules (the reality of adult life, right?).
As we make plans this summer, I hope you enjoy the season. I hope you make fun plans with family and friends and take advantage of the opportunities that come with summer. Whether you prefer to beat the heat and find indoor activities, cover yourself in sunscreen and soak up the sun, or both, I hope you enjoy every moment of it. That is my goal for this season!
Abbi